Transcription factors of the NFκB/Rel family are critical regulators of genes involved in inflammation, cell proliferation and apoptosis (for reviews, see Verma et al., Genes Dev. 9:2723-35, 1995; Siebenlist, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1332:7-13, 1997, Baeuerle and Henkel, Ann. Rev. Immunol. 12:141-79, 1994; Barnes and Karin, New Engl. J. Med. 336, 1066-71, 1997; Baeuerle and Baltimore, Cell 87:13-20, 1996; Grilli et al., NF-κB and Rel: Participants in a multiform transcriptional regulatory system (Academic Press, Inc., 1993), vol. 143; Baichwal and Baeuerle, Curr. Biol. 7:94-96, 1997). The prototype member of the family, NFκB, is composed of a dimer of p50 NFκB and p65 RelA (Baeuerle and Baltimore, Cell 53:211-17, 1988; Baeuerle and Baltimore, Genes Dev. 3:1689-98, 1989). NF-κB plays a pivotal role in the highly specific pattern of gene expression observed for immune, inflammatory and acute phase response genes, including interleukin 1, interleukin 8, tumor necrosis factor and certain cell adhesion molecules.
Like other members of the Rel family of transcriptional activators, NF-κB is sequestered in an inactive form in the cytoplasm of most cell types. A variety of extracellular stimuli including mitogens, cytokines, antigens, stress inducing agents, UV light and viral proteins initiate a signal transduction pathway that ultimately leads to NF-κB release and activation. Thus, inhibitors and activators of the signal transduction pathway may be used to alter the level of active NF-κB, and have potential utility in the treatment of diseases associated with NF-κB activation.
Activation of NFκB in response to each of these stimuli is controlled by an inhibitory subunit, IκB, which retains NFκB in the cytoplasm. IκB proteins, of which there are six known members, each contain 5-7 ankyrin-like repeats required for association with the NFκB/Rel dimer and for inhibitory activity (see Beg et al., Genes Dev. 7, 2064-70, 1993; Gilmore and Morin, Trends Genet. 9, 427-33, 1993; Diaz-Meco et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:4770-75, 1993; Haskill et al., Cell 65:1281-89, 1991). IκB proteins include IκBα and IκBβ.
NFκB activation involves the sequential phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and degradation of IκB. Phosphorylation of IκB is highly specific for target residues. For example, phosphorylation of the IκB protein IκBα takes place at serine residues S32 and S36, and phosphorylation of IκBβ occurs at serine residues S19 and S23. The choreographed series of modification and degradation steps results in nuclear import of transcriptionally active NFκB due to the exposure of a nuclear localization signal on NFκB that was previously masked by IκB (Beg et al., Genes Dev. 6:1899-1913, 1992). Thus, NFκB activation is mediated by a signal transduction cascade that includes one or more specific IκB kinases, a linked series of E1, E2 and E3 ubiquitin enzymes, the 26S proteasome, and the nuclear import machinery. The phosphorylation of IκB is a critical step in NF-κB activation, and the identification of an IκB kinase, as well as proteins that modulate its kinase activity, would further the understanding of the activation process, as well as the development of therapeutic methods.
Several protein kinases have been found to phosphorylate IκB in vitro, including protein kinase A (Ghosh and Baltimore, Nature 344:678-82, 1990), protein kinase C (Ghosh and Baltimore, Nature 344:678-82, 1990) and double stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (Kunar et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:6288-92, 1994). Constitutive phosphorylation of IκBα by casein kinase II has also been observed (see Barroga et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:7637-41, 1995). None of these kinases, however appear to be responsible for in vivo activation of NF-κB. For example, phosphorylation of IκBα in vitro by protein kinase A and protein kinase C prevent its association with NF-κB, and phosphorylation by double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase results in dissociation of NF-κB. Neither of these conform to the effect of phosphorylation in vivo, where IκBα phosphorylation at S32 and S36 does not result in dissociation from NF-κB.
Other previously unknown proteins with IκB kinase activity have been reported, but these proteins also do not appear to be significant activators in vivo. A putative IκBα kinase was identified by Kuno et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270:27914-27919, 1995, but that kinase appears to phosphorylate residues in the C-terminal region of IκBα, rather than the S32 and S36 residues known to be important for in vivo regulation. Diaz-Meco et al., EMBO J. 13:2842-2848, 1994 also identified a 50 kD IκB kinase, with uncharacterized phosphorylation sites. Schouten et al., EMBO J. 16:3133-44, 1997 identified p90rski as a putative IκBα kinase; however, p90rski is only activated by TPA and phosphorylates IκBα only on Ser32, which is insufficient to render IκBα a target for ubiquitination. Finally, Chen et al, Cell 84:853-862, 1996 identified a kinase that phosphorylates IκBα, but that kinase was identified using a non-physiological inducer of IκBα kinase activity and requires the addition of exogenous factors for in vitro phosphorylation.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an IκB kinase that possesses the substrate specificity and other properties of the in vivo kinase. There is also a need for improved methods for modulating the activity of proteins involved in activation of NF-κB, and for treating diseases associated with NF-κB activation. The present invention fulfills these needs and further provides other related advantages.